This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
West Valley City • One of the purposes of preseason basketball is to prepare teams for the rigors of the state tournament.
Brighton's 62-44 victory over Granger on Friday night was part of the ritual, especially since the Bengals were playing back-to-back games like the kind they might face at the state tournament.
Brighton beat Lone Peak 58-47 Thursday night as Dani Barton and Lindsey Johnson scored 28 and 14 points respectively.
And that duo led the Bengals to a relatively easy win over scrappy Granger and the Lancers' fine guard Jessica Matheson as each scored 17 points before being pulled in the second half after Brighton had built a 30-point lead.
"You kind of have to do that when you get to the state tournament," said Bengal coach Jim Gresh when asked about playing two games in two nights. "And I schedule them when I can schedule them. You have to have 10 preseason games … This was good for us. And they would rather do that than practice."
Barton said she felt the effects of the Thursday game early, as Granger hung close for the first 12 minutes before a 7-0 run gave the Bengals their first double digit lead.
"I was tired at the beginning of the game," said Barton. "I was feeling last night's game. They were a tough team. … Every game, we are getting better and better."
Granger, which tested powerful Bingham earlier in the year, has had better games this season. The feisty Matheson, who finished with a game-high 23 points, will keep the Lancers in many games this season.
But Brighton just had too much height and was too smooth for Granger.
The Bengals lead 16-9 at the end of the first quarter and built that to a 34-19 margin at halftime. When they went ahead 58-28 early in the fourth quarter, Gresh emptied his bench and gave his starters a well deserved rest.
Brighton 62, Granger 44
R Dani Barton and Lindsey Johnson each score 17 to lead the Bengals.
• Jessica Matheson scores 23 to lead Granger.